Authorities in Kiev stepped in to disperse demonstrators at
around 4:30 am local time (02:30 GMT). According to opposition
activists, around 1,000 policemen from the special task force,
Berkut, armed with clubs and shields swept Independence Square
clear of the remaining demonstrators that had chosen to stay
overnight in the capital’s downtown area.

"It was horrible. We were holding a peaceful demonstration
and they attacked us," a protester told AP. "They threw
us away like garbage."

At least 35 people were injured in the clashes with seven of them
still remaining in hospital. Over 30 people were detained.

The square was surrounded by police early in the morning and
mobile phone communication in the area was suppressed. After the
police used force to disperse the crowd, some protesters went to
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery about 500 meters away from
the square to take shelter in its cathedral.

Yanukovich blew the pandora's box wide open by dispersing the
Maidan protest. A new one is gathering already pic.twitter.com/g9SfnwVFue

According to one of the protest organizers, police used tear gas
and swung clubs at protesters, Sergey Milnichenko told the AP.
The demonstrators stoned police buses in return. Some
demonstrators were detained and taken into custody, activists
reported.

Authorities told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the
decision to break up the protests came after “a number of
incidents and clashes” between pro-EU supporters and the
police. During the demonstration protesters threw rocks and
fireworks at police and activists also damaged a police bus.

Police actions followed large-scale demonstrations earlier on
Friday that had gathered an estimated 10,000 people, calling for
the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych as he refused to
sign the association agreement with the EU.

Arseny Yatsenyuk, leader of the pro-Western faction opposition
and a former minister of economy, has announced that opposition
forces have decided to form a ‘national resistance command’ to
organize and coordinate a Ukrainian national strike.

Yatsenyuk stressed that the initiative is supported among other
opposition factions. The politician has once again said the
responsibility for police action against pro-EU demonstrators in
Kiev lies with the country’s president and Minister of Interior
Vitaly Zakharchenko.

The EU delegation to Ukraine issued a statement calling on the
Ukrainian authorities to refrain from using force on protesters.

In an interview published on Friday, the US Ambassador to
Ukraine, Jeffrey Payette, warned against using force against
protesters in Ukraine, mentioning “serious consequences”
on the part of Washington if this condition is not met.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland, Markiyan Malsky, was summoned to
the Polish Foreign Ministry for an explanation in connection with
the beating of two Polish citizens in Kiev during the protests,
spokesman for the Polish Foreign Minister, Marcin Wojciechowski,
wrote on his Twitter account.

The ministry also issued a statement on its website on Saturday,
saying that “forceful dispersion of peaceful demonstrations
does not help the cause of Ukraine's integration with
Europe.”

“We caution Ukrainian authorities against using force as it
may carry unpredictable and irrevocable consequences”.

"What is clear is that the government is not interested in
such provocations, but rather it is interested in stability and
peace in the country. Therefore the investigation, according to
the prime minister, should be transparent,” said the PM’s
spokesman, Vitaly Lukyanenko.

Azarov urged the people not to give in to provocations, “not
to believe all sorts of rumors”, to separate facts from
speculation.

On Friday Ukraine rejected a key integration deal with Europe, as the
opposition held large rallies in protest against the rejection.

The deal was rejected in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where
European leaders gathered. Unlike Moldova, Azerbaijan and
Georgia, which signed the first documents towards association
agreements with the EU, Ukraine stuck to its decision not to
integrate with the union.

Even after announcing that there would be no deal, Ukrainian
President Victor Yanukovich went to the summit to personally
explain his government’s move. He said it would be too painful
for the Ukrainian economy to start association agreements with
the EU now.